Donna Morrissey

Canadian author

Donna Morrissey (born January 13, 1956, in The Beaches, Newfoundland) is a Canadian author.

At age 16, Morrissey left her birthplace of The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places in Canada before returning to St. John's, where she studied at Memorial University and obtained a Bachelor of Social Work and a diploma in adult education. Morrissey now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Morrissey has written six national best sellers and prize-winning novels — Kit's Law, Downhill Chance, Sylvanus Now, What They Wanted, The Deception of Livvy Higgs, and The Fortunate Brother — as well as one Gemini-nominated screenplay. In 2021 She published a memoir, Pluck: A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to becoming a Novelist.

Morrissey defended Frank Parker Day's novel Rockbound in Canada Reads 2005. Rockbound eventually won the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Morrissey returned to champion Anosh Irani's novel The Song of Kahunsha.

Bibliography

Kit's Law
Downhill Chance
Sylvanus Now
What They Wanted
The Deception of Livvy Higgs
The Fortunate Brother
Pluck: A memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to Becoming a Novelist

Filmography

Clothesline Patch (screenplay)

nominated for Gemini for Best Writing

Awards and recognition

For Sylvanus Now:
- Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
- Atlantic Booksellers Choice Award
- Short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
For Downhill Chance:
- Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
For Kit's Law:
- Winner of the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award
- Winner of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
- Winner of the American Library Association Alex Award
- Shortlisted for the Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Shortlisted for the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers' Choice Award
- Shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall Award
For Clothesline Patch:
- Winner, Best Production, 2002 Gemini Awards